Mysterious Ways
by Miralover
Summary: Ar Tonelico What if Lyner had actually been a reyvatail? See how Lyner copes with gender changes and getting hit on by the girls while having no clue of what's going on.


Miralover: Hey all! 8D I decided to write a fanfic to one of my favorite games. I was depressed to see that there was no a specific section for it made yet. So I'm contributing to the very little that are there so that way it may one day be made into it's own category.

Disclaimers: I don't own Ar Tonelico.

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In the Cathedral of Platina Leard Barsett was facing one of the most difficult moments of his life. He was pacing back and forth with his arms crossed. He was to have a child in this world any minute now and he was nervous on what his life would hold for him. He was already having high hopes for this child of his. He wanted his child to do the good for Platina and serve as a helping a hand. The only question was…would he get a girl or a boy? If he had a boy he already knew what he was going to have the child do. He knew that he would one day be too old for governing the city itself. He would teach the boy everything he knew and raise him as the next heir. He was already smirking to himself at the though. What about a girl then? Well, the child's mother was a reyvatail…He supposed then that the girl would blossom into a fine reyvatial once his wife deemed it ready for the girl to start learning. Before he could think more on the matter he was snapped out of his thoughts upon seeing one of the knights quickly approach.

"Sir, come with me! Something has happened!" the knight quickly pressed with a look of urgency on his face.

"Alright.' Leard replied as he quickly followed after the knight. He had a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach. He could tell that something had gone wrong, but what? He was trying not let his mind wander on all the possible things that could have gone wrong with the pregnancy. He quickly reaches the hospital and is taken to the room where his wife is staying in. He is shocked to see so many knights right by the door.

"What's going on?" he quickly questioned the nearest knight. Why would there be so many knights?

"A virus, sir! It is in the room and we are trying our best to eliminate it, but all attacks are not working." The knight replied and stood straight when he saw that Leard was talking to him personally.

"A virus? Why here?" he quickly questioned. He was over come with shock. Why would a virus appear inside Platina of all places? And inside the same hospital room where his wife and child were no less!

"We aren't sure how it got inside the city without being detected, sir. Lady Shurelia should be here soon enough to take care of the virus sir. Till then we have been trying to hold the virus off from getting to the woman and child inside." The knight replied.

Leard could only bit his bottom lip in inpatients. He would have to patiently wait for Shurelia to show up. There was nothing he could do until then. He started to pace back and forth as he tried not to let himself panic over his wife and child.

"I'm here." Shurelia replied. Leard snapped his head up to see Shurelia in her armor. He lightly smirked at her. He hadn't even been paying much attention to her arrival since he had been too caught up in his thoughts.

"The virus is in the room. Hurry." He ordered her. He watched as she entered the room. The door slammed shut behind her and he could only listen to what was going on inside the room. He was growing a bit on the edge in anticipation but let out a relieved sighed as Shurelia came out with a crying baby in her arms.

"Fortunately the child was unharmed….The woman however is dead." Shurelia softly told Leard. Leard felt a shocking blow to the heart. The woman that he loved was now one of the departed. He slowly took the crying child in his arms and held it with care. He looked at Shurelia and noticed that she looked hesitantly away from him.

"She risked her life to protect her child…" Shurelia softly said and walked away. Leard could only watch her back till she disappeared from view. He frowned and looked down at the crying child in his arms. He slowly walked out of the hospital. He really didn't have a destination in mind as he let his feet drag against the concrete. He soon stopped at the park and stared off in the blue sky. The child in his arms only wiggled in his grasp and soon stopped crying.

"Heh…I don't even know what gender you are." Leard softly said to his child. He was almost afraid to look and find out. He looked down to have a closer look at his only child. The child had light stands of blond hair that he was sure would darken over time. The child's brown eyes looked up at Leard with a now calm expression on its face. It was almost as if his child was trying to judge him by analyzing his moments. Leard sighed and lightly stroked the top of his child's head. The baby snuggled into the touched and lightly yawned. Leard lightly smiled at the sight.

"Let's get you home.." Leard softly said and carried the child off to his home. It wasn't until he got home that he dared to look at what his child's gender was. It was a girl.

**Platina**

_Lyner Age: 12_

"You got that, Lyne?" Leard yelled out.

"Yeah, Yeah, Dad. I'll be careful." replied the blonde haired preteen. Lyne quickly dashed out of the house and smirked in happiness. She was finally done with the boring lessons that her father had to offer her and now it was time to explore the town! She wore a green sweater that had a large pocket on the front with a hood. She also had on shorts with white tennis shoes on. Her hair barely reached her chin and she was always mistaken as a boy. She didn't mind it though since she didn't bother to stop and correct anyone. She felt like she had more freedom as a boy anyway. She quickly walked to the park and looked around to see if anyone else was out to play. As she walked up to see that statue of a man and reyvateil she saw someone that she had never seen before. It was a girl with black hair that was pulled into two pony tails. The ends of the girl's pony tail were red. Odd…Not only that, but what the girl was wearing was something strange. It was a purple kimono that looked like it could fall off the girl's shoulders at any moment. Out of curiosity Lyne slowly approached the girl.

"Hi!" she softly said in a greeting. She placed both of her hands in her sweat shirts pocket and smirked. The other girl turned around and looked surprised at first before smiling.

"Hello, my name is Misha. What's your name?" Misha asked Lyne. Lyne figured that the girl was nice enough to talk to so it should be a problem to play with her since no one else was around.

"It's Lyne..eerrr…Barsett." she shyly replied back. She had nearly forgotten her last name in the mist of staring at the girl. She could help it though, what the girl was wearing was something completely different. The two large pearls in the girl's hair, the hair dress that she was wearing and sandals that made the girl stand taller where interesting to look at.

"Well, nice to meet you Lyner. So what brings you here?" Misha asked. Lyne pondered on correcting her, but then thought better of it. It didn't seem like this girl showed up around here that often, so what was the point of correcting her if they would only be meeting each other just this once.

"Wanna play? Exploring Platina is really fun." Lyne said with a smile. She was hoping that Misha would say yes. She was already planning on showing her some cool hideouts that she had stumbled upon while exploring on her own.

"Sure, that sounds like fun." Misha happily replied. Lyne dashed down the stairs and waited for Misha to catch up. Misha didn't take as long as she thought it would. She thought for sure that the girl would walk slowly in the sandals she was wearing, but it seemed like she could keep up just fine. As she turned around to start leading the way once more her eyes stopped at the stand. Her eyes slowly grew at the sight of fun buns lying on the stands counter. She had to have one!

"Hold on, I must get a fun bun first." Lyne replied with a smirk. She turned to looked at Misha who only gave her a curious look.

"A fun bun? What's that?" Misha asked her. Lyne just gaped at the girl in shock. She had never heard of a fun bun before? Impossible!

"You don't know what a fun bun is? It's the most delicious treat in the whole world! You have to try one right now! I'm going to get one for the both of us." Lyne replied. She walked over to the stand to order two from the owner of the stand. Misha only looked hesitantly as Lyne walked back with two fun buns in her hand.

"This is a fun bun. Try it." Lyne replied with a smile on her face. She watched as Misha picked up the fun bun and took a bite out of it. Misha face scrunched up, but she swallowed the stuff down. It tasted horrible to her! Lyne on the other hand was already eating hers away with a happy smile on her face.

"Um….I'm kinda full." Misha softly replied as she looked at her fun bun that only had one bite taken out of it. Lyne quickly finished up her fun bun and looked at Misha.

"Oh, really? I'll eat yours then." Lyne replied and took the fun bun out of Misha's hands. Misha watched as Lyne just started eating right were she had left off. She lightly blushed at the thought of it being an indirect kiss.

"That was really good." Lyne replied with a smile as she finished up eating. She looked over at Misha to see that her cheeks were a light pink color. She didn't remember of the girl had already been like that before or not.

"You feeling okay, Misha? Your face looks kinda pinkish." She softly said as she looked closer at the girl's face. Misha quickly adverted her gaze from Lynes for a moment.

"I'm fine." Misha softly replied. Lyne smiled and was glad that her new friend was feeling okay. It already looked like the pink tint on the girl's face was clearing up anyway.

"Alright, then. Let's go exploring." Lyne happily declared and took a hold of Misha's wrist before running off. She took Misha all over Platina and gave her a grand tour before shower her some of the neat things that she had found while exploring. Before she knew it, evening was already setting in. She knew that her father would be upset if she didn't head home soon. She turned to face Misha who had a large smile on her face.

"Today was fun, Misha. I hope that I get to see you again so that we can play some more. There are still plenty of places that I didn't get to show you yet. Well, I have to get home before my Dad gets mad." Lyne replied. She let go of Misha's wrist and quickly ran home. She turned around to wave by to Misha before she lost sight of her. When she reached the door to her home she found Leard sitting on the sofa staring at her. She sighed and opened the door. She stepped in and closed the door behind her. She quickly explained what she had been doing and who she had been with all day. Leard only nodded his head and sent her off to wash her hands for dinner. After dinner Lyne quickly headed to bed before Leard could get her to do some more studying. She sighed and laid down in bed. She thought about all the fun she had with Misha and hoped that she would show up again tomorrow and play. Little did she know that Misha would be waiting for her to play with for the next few months to come.

**Platina**

_Day of Misha's Departure_

Lyne smirked as she sneaked out of the house while Leard was busy with other matters. She quickly dashed off to the park and found Misha at the park.

"Misha! I'm here….What's wrong?" Lyne asked as she saw the frown on Misha's lips and it also looked like she was about cry. Lyne was confused about this of course. What could make Misha so upset?

"Lyner….I have to leave tomorrow. I probably won't get to see you again for a long time if ever again." Misha replied softly as she tried not to cry in front of Lyne. She didn't want to leave, but she knew that would have been inevitable in the long run. Someone has to protect everyone in Platina.

"Don't worry about it. Let me show this really special place that I found!" Lyne softly replied as she tried to cheer Misha up. She knew that she was feeling depressed about the fact that Misha was going to be leaving, but she wanted to have their last time together to be meaningful.

"Okay. Would this place be something that only the two of us would know about?" Misha softly asked Lyne as the tears soon vanished from her sight. Lyne only smiled back at Misha.

"Of course! It will our special place and no one else can be allowed to be there." Lyne replied happily. She was happy that Misha was cheering up. It would not have been the same if Misha had been depressed on their last day. She took Misha by the wrist and quickly ran to the edge of town. Misha looked over at Lyne in shock.

"Wait, but isn't it-" Misha quickly said as she realized that they were leaving Platina.

"Don't worry. I'll protect you." Lyne replied with a smirk on her lips. She had a bat just for the occasion. She held Misha firmly so that they wouldn't get separated from each other. That would be the worst thing that could possibly happen to them. If they split then she wouldn't be able to protect her. She looked around the area and slowly started to guide Misha to a spot that she found that was really awesome. It was far from their location so she had hid a bat…..somewhere….

"Now, where did I put it?" Lyne softly asked her self till she heard something fall over and softly roll. She looked around and spotted the bat just a few steps up ahead. She smirked and walked over to it while taking her grasp off of Misha. She reached down to grab for it when a loud screech could be heard. She felt the hairs stand up on the back of her neck as she quickly grabbed the bat up and looked to see a virus! It was about the same height as they were and looked like it was in the shape of a boar. The purple armor that the virus had nearly blended in with the rest of area except for the strands of silver that made it stand out. It blew out a puff of smoke from its nose and scratched its hoof against the ground in agitation.

"Lyner, we need to head back to Platina!" Misha said as she saw the virus for herself. There was no way that they would be able to take the virus on by themselves. Lyne silently agreed with that idea and quickly turned around to dash away. She quickly grabbed Misha's hand and started to take off without a second thought. A screech was heard and soon the ground was violently shaking with the steps of the virus. Lyne looked over her shoulder to see the virus easily gaining on them. A fork appeared and she quickly took it if only to gain more room for running. The virus rushed passed them till it crashed into the wall. The ground shook from the impact and Lyne nearly fell flat on her face. It was great that they had gained more time, but now their way to Platina was blocked by the virus.

"Sorry, Misha. It looks like we are going to have to run the other way." Lyne quickly said and pulled Misha along with her. She had no idea where she was going since she hadn't been out of Platina for reasons such as this one that they were in now.

"Lyner, make a left!" Misha told her as she saw another fork in the road. Lyne quickly did as Misha instructed. The ground soon began to shake again.

"Just great. That thing is already back on its feet." Lyne complained but kept running. She was slowly growing tired from running. She soon slowed to a stop as they reached a door. She stood in front of it, but it was not operating. The shakes were getting rougher and she was sure that the virus was going to reach any minute now. A loud screech was heard and Lyne turned around to see the virus charging right for them.

"Lyner, do something!" Misha cried out in fright. Lyne cursed and pounded her bat on the door. They had no where else to run.

"Come on! Open up-Ahhhh!" Lyne cried out as the door opened. She fell right through it and Misha landed right on top of her. She felt a slight breeze brush past her when she suddenly heard the virus cry out in pain. Lyne wiggled around until she was free of Misha's weight. She sat up and turned around to see a person in white armor stand in front of them. She could only gape at the person for a moment.

"Are you okay?" the person asked. Lyne could hear a feminine tone in the voice and she slowly stood up. She helped Misha to her feet before looking at the person. The grunt from the virus right behind the person alerted Lyne.

"Look out, the virus is right behind you." She said as she pointed to it. The woman only chuckled.

"No need to worry. I'll take care of this, but I'm going to need some help from you." The woman replied. Lyne looked are her in surprise. She was going to need help from them? What could they possibly do to help this mysterious woman?

"Lyner, Lady Shurelia will protect us. You'll just have to keep the virus at bay while she concentrates on singing." Misha replied with a smile. Lyne looked between the two. So then…Misha knew this…Shurelia person then? She picked up her bat that she had dropped when she had fallen.

"Alright." Lyne replied with a confident nod. She quickly ran at the virus and swung her bat at it. The bat only vibrated in her hands as it came in contact with the virus's protective armor. She frowned once she realized that it seemed to do nothing to the virus. This wasn't going to look good for her at all. Hopefully, it wouldn't take long for Lady Shurelia to charge up. Shurelia was standing still but a ball of light was hovering over her. It was steadily growing bigger as each second passed. The virus only screeched and charge toward Lyne. She froze on the spot and the virus rammed into her. She went flying backwards and landed hard on the ground before rolling a few feet to a stop.

"Lyner, are you okay?" Misha asked in concern. It had looked really painful. Lyne groaned and slowly got back on her feet. She was already covered in scrapes but she gave Misha a reassuring smile. She quickly rushed back in front of Shurelia and held the bat firmly. She heard a screech come from the beast and it looked like it had its eyes on Shurelia now.

"Alright, Lyner. I'm ready." Shurelia replied with a smiled. Lyne quickly backed up and watched as the pink ball of light shot straight at the virus. The virus screamed in agony, but it wasn't dead! The virus staggered and quickly charged straight towards Misha.

"Misha, look out!" Lyne cried out before pushing her out of the way. Lyne only gasped and gagged as the virus went into her before blacking out.

"Lyner? Lyner!" Misha cried out as she shook her. There was no response coming from her at all. Misha could feel tears coming to her eyes at the thought of losing someone so precious.

"Misha, we have to Lyner back to Platina. It's the only way that we can figure what to do from there. Come. Stand up." Shurelia softly said. She picked up Lyne's limp body and slowly walked off toward Platina. Misha lightly nodded and followed after her. She quickly wiped away any tears that she had on her face and resolved to stand strong and support Shurelia in any way that she could.

Back in Platina, Leard was wondering where his sly daughter had run off to. He had grown suspicious when he hadn't heard a word from anyone. He was just about to search the town and low for her when Shurelia and Misha come in a rush to see him personally. He turned to regard them when he sees his daughter lying limp in Shurelia's arms.

"What's going on? You two explain yourselves." Leard demanded. He couldn't help that he was already thinking of the worst possible ideas of what could have happen. Oh god! Was she dead!?

"Lyner was taking me to some secret place that he had found when we were attacked by a virus. We ran from it and then ran into Lady Shurelia. Lyner fought the virus while Lady Shurelia formed a song magic to kill it. Well, Lady Shurelia used it, but…" Misha softly told Leard and looked down at the ground in light shame. She felt guilty for not doing anything really. She had just stood on the side lines.

"The virus didn't die from the blow like I had expected it to. In an attempt to live the virus attempted to dive into Misha, but Lyner pushed her out of the way and got in the way instead. As you can see this was the result of the virus that has dived into his subconscious." Shurelia finished where Misha left off. Leard slightly relaxed just a bit at the fact that his daughter wasn't dead, but….Lyner? And why were they calling her a he? He would have to ask his daughter about that later. First thing in order was to get the virus out of her.

"Take..Lyner to the dive shop. Diving into him should get you closer to the virus. Once inside, exterminate the virus. I'll leave this in your hands Shurelia." Leard replied with a grim expression on his face. He was worried about the effects of what this could to do to Lyner, but didn't want to voice it out.

"Yes, sir. Let's go Misha." Shurelia replied and turned to leave. Misha quickly followed after Shurelia, but stole one last glance at Leard before completing leaving. She pondered on his expression for a bit. She had never seen him make that face before. Did Lyner mean something to him or something? Before she knew it they were already at the dive shop. She watched as Shurelia paid the man before diving straight into Lyner. She just stood there and waited patiently. She could only hope that things went smoothly.

Shurelia awoke to a desolate area. The entire place of Lyne's mind was like a deserted desert. She quickly went on her search on finding the location of the virus. She cautious walked around the area till she stumbled upon… "Lyner?" she questioned.

There was Lyne dressed in the same clothes that she wore, but her eyes were as black as night and appeared empty. Shurelia only backed away in shock as the person before changed into the virus. "So it was just a trick." She said and got ready to sing. This was dangerous for her. She had no one to protect her so her concentration could easily be broken. She just hoped that the virus was still in a weak state or she may not make it out so safely. The virus focused on targeting Shurelia and starched its hoof against the ground in preparation to charge. Shurelia didn't waste any time in releasing the small ball of energy that she held. It hit the virus straight on and the virus cry out before bursting into pieces. Some of the pieces vanished while others seemed to seep into the floor and leave a black spot. The spot soon vanished though and Shurelia claimed that her job was done after seeing the world around her return to a beautiful green.

Misha was sitting on the ground when Shurelia woke up. "How's Lyner?" she softly asked her.

"We won't know till he wakes up." Shurelia softly replied and carried the limp Lyne in her arms. Misha trailed behind Shurelia and returned to update Leard on everything that had happened.

"I see…' Leard softly replied in thought. He took Lyne in his arms and sighed. He didn't like the thought about the black spots that had seemed to taint Lyne's world for a moment. Had they truly disappeared or had they just dove deeper into her. He stared down at his daughter and sighed.

"You two are dismissed. I'll update you on any further news on…Lyner." Leard replied to the two. He watched as they walked away and then turned to take Lyne home. It was right as he was about to place her in bed that she stirred and lightly groaned. He watched as she sat up and then a question look.

"I'm home?" Lyne softly said as she looked up at Leard with a questioning look. Leard only nodded his head and watched his daughter's behavior. It was some how different. It wasn't till he saw place a hand between her legs and look down in shock that figured that something was up.

"What's wrong?" he asked her. Lyne blushed a bit before adverting her gaze.

"There is something there….It wasn't there before." Lyne softly replied. Leard was only more confused by what she was talking about.

"Feels like an hose or-" Lyne replied.

"What?" Leard interrupted. It clicked in his mind. His daughter was now a boy! He wasn't sure on what to think at the moment. Apparently, the virus must have done a gender change. He groaned to himself.

"Let's just keep this secret between you and me, Lyne. Everyone already thought you were a boy so this shouldn't be that difficult. We'll just have to play along till I can figure a way to change you back." Leard told his once daughter, but now son. Lyne thought it over and silently nodded.

"Good." Leard replied. Good god! What had they gotten themselves into?

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Miralover: Woot! Finally finished this first chapter.


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